... Pilates is the founder of the Pilates method also known as "the method." He was born in Germany in 1880 and as a young boy suffered from asthma, ricketts and rheumatic fever. He was always very weak. Fortunately, a family physician gave him a used anatomy book which he proceeded to memorize. He said, " I learned every page, every part of the body; I would move ... each part as I memorized it. " He studied both Eastern and Western forms of exercise including yoga, Zen, and ancient Greek and Roman regimens. By the time he was 14 he had worked so hard to improve his body that he had become...

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• Grade Level: High School